Birthday Wish
by Skygaze Lily
Summary: My mom was the coolest mom around, and sometimes I wondered if I'd ever be as great as her. (Image fits under all fair use policies. I take no credit for it and make no profit on it.)


**_This was submitted in my deviantart gallery as well, but I figured hey, I have a fanfiction account. Why not use it?_**

 ** _I don't plan on turning this into a full-fledged multi-chaptered story and make no promises about any other shorts I might make concerning this cross-over. I have read all the new terms and conditions of and I BELIEVE this is all appropriate. Christ, you guys sure got… rigid. xD I'm not sure how comfortable I feel sharing fiction on here, so if I do make any continuations it will probably be on my dA._**

 _ **I would have tagged the various Dora characters used, but there didn't seem to be an option for that. I was only allowed to choose Undertale characters for whatever reason.**_

* * *

My mom was the coolest mom around, and sometimes I wondered if I'd ever be as great as her.

I'd be surprised if you _hadn't_ heard of her, by now. I mean, she's pretty well known. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't recognize her name; it's crazy. But then again, I... I guess I shouldn't be surprised by just how much of a hero she is in everyone's eyes... from what I've heard, my mom was the kind of person who was destined to be a hero from the start.

She'd gotten into this stuff from a real young age. It started with small deeds; running errands for her neighbors when they couldn't, finding toys that other kids had lost, going on little adventures in the woods with her cousin and their friends when time allowed... and over time that just spiraled upward into even greater things.

Facing up against the neighborhood thief. Pacifying trolls. Discovering secret places and peoples no one even _knew_ about. By the time she had me, my mother had saved a mermaid princess, traveled back in time and walked with dinosaurs, made peace with pirate swines, restored a lost kingdom, and ended a civil war between _unicorns and dragons._ From helping baby birds back into their nests to finding fallen stars and returning them to the sky, she had become a _legend,_ or even something just short of a god.

Some said she had even seen the face of God.

So hopefully you can understand my concerns about living up to _any_ of that. It's kind of a huge burden, especially when your parent had become this huge star just from just like... 5 years old, and here _you_ are; already two years older than that- soon to be three- and with nothing remarkable or extraordinary to share yet.

That, however, all changed on a fateful Saturday morning.

Although, I should... probably cover Friday afternoon first. That stuff was kind of important, too. Set-up and all that.

* * *

It had been a somewhat uncomfortable school day. My teacher had decided to celebrate Atlantis Day in every way she could imagine. She'd encouraged my classmates from the day before to wear outfits relating to the topic, and even came to class wearing a sea-themed dress. She then proceeded to incorporate the holiday into each of our lessons, from silly math problems to a whole history lecture on the once long-lost realm. She went over its origins, its fall, its rediscovery- (if you guessed that my mom had anything to do with that, you guessed right)- and as soon as she delved into the details of how my mom brought it all back by restoring peace between two magical kingdoms, my friends couldn't stop oo-ing and aw-ing about it and talking about how much they wanted to be like her. Some of them (all dressed up as unicorns or dragons, of course) even turned to me with stars in their eyes, gushing about how I must feel so lucky to be her kid and how they just knew I'd be as great as her, someday. Me? I just blushed and sank uncomfortably in my seat.

It was because of all this unwanted attention that I'd made it a point to walk home by myself for a change, avoiding most of my friends and peers by sticking to the jungle paths. Once again I'd been put into a brooding mood by the inspiring- and yet daunting- legacy of my mom, but I had no real way of expressing that to anyone I knew. I scarcely knew how to describe it, myself. So I was going to deal with it in the way I knew best; sulking by myself and just hoping that someday, they'd all be right.

Someday...

I sighed and opened the door to my house, wanting nothing more than to grab a glass of milk with some cookies and study for a while in my room. However, I scarcely had time to mope when the lights went on and I was suddenly swept up into an unexpected hug.

"Feliz cumpleaños, niño!" Diego said in an enthusiastically booming voice as he squeezed me tight, my mother grinning behind him. I smiled and laughed in spite of my small wince, and hugged my mom's cousin back just as tightly (I wasn't sure why, but my family members have always had a tendency to be rather... _loud?_ Especially Mom. She's got a habit of talking to herself rather loudly...) I then realized that the room was full of faces I knew well. My grandparents, my mom's friends, even that purple squirrel with the long bushy tail! And was that a flash of squeaky red boots I'd just seen in the crowd? What on earth were they all doing here?

"But... but my birthday's tomorrow!"

"That's right! Your birthday is tomorrow!" declared Mom as she placed a hand on my shoulder. She was doing it again. Smiling and staring at nowhere in particular. I'd learned to not be too concerned about it. "But there was no way I could leave without celebrating such a wonderful day, so us grown-ups decided; birthday-eve-surprise-party it was!" That seemed to be the cue for everyone else, who immediately collectively wished me a happy birthday.

I hadn't forgotten; Mom, Dad, and Diego had another expedition planned! Something to do with a party between King Unicornio and the dragon kingdom? Or were they traveling back in time again? I could never keep up. I just knew they were going somewhere, and it had unfortunately meant that my parents weren't going to be here for my birthday... but as it turned out, Mom had other plans in mind. I beamed as I threw my arms around her legs, to which she responded with a hug of her own.

"A surprise party, for me?! Oh Mom, thank you so much! _Gracias!_ "

"Of course, my little niño! Now, are you ready to see your cake? We can't make any wishes just yet, but I still lit candles for you to blow out!"

Candles! I could see them flickering on the big chocolate cake that Uncle Benny was holding (how he could manage with those big forehooves of his I'd never know); all nine of them. Red, orange, yellow... a color of the rainbow for each year.

"Do you want to count them with me?" asked Mom, but I quickly shook my head.

"It's okay, Mom, that's not necessa-"

"Al _right!_ I'll say it in Spanish, while you say it in English!"

"Mom I think I'm goo-"

" _Uno!"  
_  
I sighed in humored exasperation. "One..."

 _"Dos!"_

"Two-"

 _"Tres!"_

"Three-"

 _"Cuatro!"_

Benny pointed to each candle as we went along (he was somehow getting each one to glow as Mom pointed to them and I have no idea how), and I think I was actually kind of enjoying myself. That is, until we reached the fifth candle.

"Cinco!" _  
_  
I winced.

"Seis!"

I found myself wilting a little at the sight of those candles, their happy little flames mocking me.

"Sie- ... Sweetheart?" Mom then cut herself off, giving me a concerned glance before holding her hand up to the rest of the party.

"Un momento, everyone!"

She pulled me aside, leading me to the hallway. I instantly felt better and worse leaving the happy room, knowing how much of a downer I must be to everyone else in there.

Mom got down on her knees to put her hands on my shoulders. "Is something upsetting you?" she asked in a somewhat normal volume, which was her way of whispering. I was grateful for it all the same, but sighed as I tried to put into words how I'd been feeling all week.

"Mom, I... I don't want you to get me wrong. I'm really happy about the party, and... and everything! I just... I've just been... worried about things."

"What things are those?"

"About... Well, I mean... you're the most awesome person I know. And you've done all these great things for everyone, and... sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be that great. If I'll ever be... _anything._ I mean, you were a preschool hero, Mom. How can anyone top that? How can I ever be half as good as you were?"

Her look of concern gave way to a smile, and she pulled me into a hug.

"Oh little niño, of course you'll be! If you have the faith and the determination, you can go _anywhere!_ I know it! Never give up on yourself," she added as she hugged me all the tighter. "And never forget your faith in Cursor's guidance."

At the mention of Its name, I couldn't help asking: "Mom... is it true? Have you really seen the face of the great and powerful Cursor?"

"Oh sweetheart," she said, pulling away to put an arm around me. "All I can say is this. Trust in Cursor," she stretched her free arm out in front of us, spanning her hand across the room and across a great big, unseen world. "And Cursor will _always_ show you the way with all Its pointed majesty."

"You really think so?" I asked, unsure of how this was supposed to help me, but really wanting to believe her.

"I know so! Now let's-" we were interrupted by a soft rustling noise, and she suddenly stood up with a harsh look on her face, as though she had sensed an unwelcome presence before rushing out of the room. I ran out after her, confused beyond anything else until I saw _him._

"Someone came to this party uninvited!" Mom declared with an irate expression as she glared off into space. "Can you show me who wasn't invited to the birthday party?!"

I thrust my hand out, panic making me falter at first. "S-Swiper, um, Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping! _SWIPER-!"_

"You're too late!" said the banded fox in his surprisingly American accent as he jumped through the window, my cake in his paws. I couldn't help wondering why he'd make a decision like that when shards of glass could have easily gotten into the cake and turned it into a health hazard, but what do I know about burglary?

"You'll never find iiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

"I- I'm so sorry!" Uncle Benny stammered, looking grief-stricken. "He's usually a lot less subtle about the whole thing!"

"This will not do!" exclaimed my mother as she turned to everyone else in the room with a mission in her eyes, striking a pose. "Swiper has taken the chocolate birthday cake! Will you help me find-"

"Mom, Mom, it's okay," I finally cut in. "It's not that big a deal. It's not like he lives that far off and... really! We can get it back tomorrow! O-or something!" And really, losing the cake itself wasn't that big of a deal. I was more-so caught up in the wallowing self-pity I was desperately trying to push down (my mom was foiling Swiper's antics at five years old, dangit! And I couldn't even get him to stop tip-toeing across the room to protect my own birthday cake! What was wrong with me?!)

"Besides... I think the broken window's a little more important..."

Mom sighed.

"Oh, my sweet niño, if you say so." But then she got down onto her knees again, clasping my shoulders and looking me straight in the eyes as her voice rose once more. "But if there's one thing Swiper can't swipe, it's your birthday wish! Will you remember to make your birthday wish for me, tomorrow?!"

"Si, of course!" I assured her.

"And I'll help you look for that cake tomorrow," Benny added as he put an affectionate hoof on my head. "It's a promise." Man, uncle Benny was the best. I couldn't help smiling up at him, even with the pre-middle-age crisis festering within me.

And other than a few party games and some nice presents, the exciting part of the night pretty much ended there.

* * *

So I'm guessing I should move onto Saturday morning, now.

It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning, making the weather just right for cake-hunting. Benny and I got started on searching the neighboring rain forest not long after he picked me up from the house. Whenever Mom and everyone had somewhere to go, he'd look after me during the day and drop me back home afterward, a routine I'd grown familiar with.

We mostly spent the morning trying to figure out where Swiper could have possibly hidden my cake. Benny had his heart set on helping me find it, and _I_ didn't have the heart to tell him that it probably wasn't all that sanitary of a cake anymore after having been out of the house all night. So I had dedicated my time to helping him out.

Unfortunately we weren't having much luck. For a normally _obvious_ robber, he hadn't left that many clues; not a single paw print or a drop of chocolatey goodness in sight.

I let out a defeated sigh as Benny rested a hoof on my shoulder.

"Aw, kid, don't lose hope. It can't be far."

"I know it can't," I looked up at him with a glum frown. "... Hey, Benny?"

"Hm?"

"Mind if we take a break?"

Benny clapped his hooves together. "Good idea, kid! Let's take some time to brainstorm."

I nodded, hoping I looked optimistic enough for his sake, and put my hands in my pockets as I walked down the dirt path. Tiny bugs and snails smiled and waved as I went along, and suddenly I was reminded of my mother again. These same little creatures would sing songs and cheer her on her way whenever she walked by...

I smiled and waved back, appreciating the friendliness. I didn't need bugs to sing me away on my adventures; I just wanted to know what on earth I was going to do with my life. I didn't have much time left to figure that out.

The trees gave way to a brightly lit hillside, revealing fields upon fields and a mountain range in the distance. The scene would have been peaceful- inspiring, even- on a good day, but I only felt heaviness in my heart as I stared across the landscape, feeling a great sense of un-extraordinary disappointment with myself. Eight years old, and _still_ I had yet to contribute something to the world.

But that very thought gave way to a flashback of the eight lit candles on my cake, and _that_ gave way to something very important. Something I'd completely forgotten about. My eyes widened as the revelation crossed my mind, and I gasped to myself, suddenly flooded with hope.

My birthday wish. I still had my birthday wish!

Taking a deep breath, I fell down onto my knees and clasped my hands together, staring at the sky like I'd never stared at it before. "Great Cursor," I stammered out, feeling meek and yet determined all at once. "Today is my birthday. I am now the age of an elderly elementary student, and... I'm running out of time."

"I... I've been on this earth for eight _whole_ _years._ And I still don't have anything to show for it! My Mom was actually doing things at this age! Rescuing space stars, a-and, and ending wars, and pretty much saving the world! I mean, what if I haven't figured this out by the time I'm _10?_ Can you imagine that? My life will be over! My golden years will have already slipped away!"

"Oh Holy Cursor, I don't want instant glory, or to stop civil wars or... or discover a new island, or whatever. For my birthday wish, all I want is guidance to where I must go. What I must do. There must be a reason why you brought me here, and it's time I fulfill my destiny as Dora's firstborn!" Desperate to be heard, I lifted my hands to the heavens. "Great Cursor, give me guidance! Show me the way!"

I honestly wasn't expecting an answer. Maybe some misleading breeze or something, or just the simple catharsis of having finally voiced all of my worries. But when a speck of blue flashed in the corner of my eye, I paused and stared up at the sky in sheer awe.

It was everything people had said It was and more. From Its azure glow to its majestic pointed features, no one could ever mistake it to be anything else. And I had seen It. I had seen It in all Its celestial beauty, and I was terrified and inspired and overwhelmed.

I watched as It floated across the sky, a body of being more elegant than any bird, before It finally settled upon the tallest mountain in sight with a resounding "beep!"

And as quickly as it came, the legendary arrow was gone. I sat there, frozen in amazement, before standing up abruptly with clenched fists. I knew better than to deny the vision that had been bestowed upon me, or the mission that was now mine to take. Cursor had answered my prayers, and it was time to take action.

"I found something shiny!" I heard Benny call out from behind. "I think! It's over by..."

He wasn't quite looking at me, clearly on a newly discovered trail. He was already walking farther and farther away. Now was my only chance. He'd never let me go without our handy dandy talking camping supplies, and there was simply no time to go back home for that.

I gazed back at him, the wind sweeping my hair to the side.

"Goodbye Benny," I muttered with a newfound conviction. "If I'm half as good as Mom, I will probably be back in ten to fifteen minutes."

I set off into a run, and didn't look back.

* * *

Unfortunately I wasn't as time-efficient as my mom was (it was the early afternoon when I found myself close to the mountain's top), but the journey itself hadn't been all that bad. I'd taken breaks when I was tired, and the nice thing about our country (whatever it was called) was that there were plenty of resources available. Sparkling ponds of water, friendly talking gates to point me in the right direction whenever I got off-course, brightly colored fruit (that didn't talk, thankfully), and when Aunty Isa and I crossed paths she gave me some of her trail mix packs. I asked her to let Benny know I was okay if she happened to see him, and she didn't ask any questions. Isa was pretty cool.

I _was_ getting a little weary, however. I wasn't used to this kind of travel, and hiking uphill didn't make it any less taxing. Eventually I was forced to admit that I needed to stop again... and that it might have been a good idea to take Backpack along. I couldn't spot anymore ponds, and I could've used a water bottle.

I sat down on a large rock and rested my chin on my hands, contemplating. I'd pretty much reached the top, but so far hadn't found anything of importance, which was confusing. Cursor had to have led me here for a reason, right?

There were no secret kingdoms of unicorns, no kittens trapped at the top of trees, no bruised stars needing a boost back up into the night sky... _So... why_ _am_ _I here?_ I pondered to myself.

My thoughts were answered by the sound of loose gravel behind me.

Startled, I turned around with a small gasp and was taken aback when I found myself face to face with none other than _Swiper The Dastardly Fox._

He seemed awfully surprised to see me there, and in his paws was the chocolate cake that had been so cruelly robbed from me last night; now with a new layer of my mother's window shards. And if the band-aid strips on his muzzle were any indication, he must have tried to eat some of it. Rage boiled within me, and suddenly I knew _exactly_ why I'd been brought here.

I was here to reclaim my _honor._

"Get back here!" I screamed out as I leaped off the rock and made a beeline for him. Swiper let out a squeak of alarm and took off, clinging onto the cake as tightly as he could. As fast and sly as he was, however, the cake slowed him down, making this race as fair as it could get. If I could just get a little bit of a boost...

"N-No take-backsies!" that despicable fox cried out as he bounded across the rocky landscape, heading for the mountain's peak.

"No take backsies?!" I exclaimed in a volume that surely would have made my mother proud. "No, take, backsies?! That was my birthday cake, man!"

"And now it's mine!"

"Birthday cakes are off-limits! Birthday cakes literally come with a No-takesies-PERIOD deal!"

"NOT ANYMOOOOOoooooooooreee..."

I scrambled after him, ignoring any scrapes I was getting on my hands and knees. I was _going_ to get that cake back if it was the last thing I did! Edible or not, it was still mine! And it would be mine again!

Swiper made a great leap all of a sudden, but I was too narrowed in on the chase to even think about why. I only remember pushing off on some cliffside, grabbing for- and missing- his fluffy orange tail as I flew threw the air...

... and then the vague sensation of dread as he landed safely on the other side, and I began descending half-way across. Oh, no. Oh, nononono. My own momentum hadn't been good enough to make it.

The last thing I saw was Swiper's look of horror as I fell into darkness, and everything faded into black.

Well... figuratively _and_ literally.

* * *

I awoke to find myself in a bed of, believe it or not, flowers. It wasn't exactly a field- more like just a little cluster that had somehow managed to grow in the depths of this cave (with no soil and such little sunlight? Okay then...)- and somehow they had been just thick enough to break my fall. I wasn't sure how on earth that worked, but I wasn't about to question it.

I _did_ , however, get up as quickly as I could. My memories of Aunty Isa's garden and her singing bow-tie-wearing flowers had me frantically checking the bed for any signs of sentient floral life. Thankfully, these seemed to be the less talkative kind.

I straightened with a shaky sigh of ease before looking up at the natural skylight far above me. I could see just a few smiley stars beginning to twinkle into view; I must have been down here for a while... and Swiper must be long gone with my cake.

That little jerk...

I couldn't see any way back up, but I continued to explore the area while shoving my growing panic down. There had to be somewhere out of here, right? Right?! I thought about calling for help, but who else was going to be out here? As if this day couldn't have gotten worse...

Huh?

Relief overwhelmed me as I spotted a doorway in the distance; an open one, by the looks of it. It meant there had to be someone else here, so I ran through it without question. _Okay,_ I told myself. I could calm down now. There was going to be someone here, and they'd be able to take me home, and even if this day had been the worst birthday of my life I'd still get to bed on time and maybe Benny wasn't having a complete heart attack just yet-

"Howdy!"

... Okay, don't laugh. The first thing that came to mind was a cowboy. But last I checked, cowboys didn't have high squeaky voices.

I looked down to see a smiling little flower beaming up at me.

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" it added, just to be absolutely clear on the matter.

"O-Oh, um... Nice to meet you." I put my hands on my knees to get a little closer to eye level with this new face. "Hey, do you know where I could-"

"Hmmm... You're new to the UNDERGROUND, aren'tcha?"

"Please don't shout," I cut in with a small wince. "It's been a rough day and my head kinda hurts-"

"Golly, you must be so confused! Someone oughta teach you how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do!"

I was getting a little flustered, and I couldn't help thinking about the frantic search party Benny must have arranged for me by now. But at the same time, I couldn't just brush this poor guy off. They must have gotten a little lonely down here with no other flowers to talk to. Or sing with. Or share the latest floral fashion (Isa's flowers really liked crowns and sunglasses right now.)

"I-I'm sure that'd be really nice," I settled for, resolving to ask them for the way out later (and offer them a home in Aunty Isa's garden, since she probably wouldn't mind.)

I was treated to a whole lecture on some really deep stuff. Like... my soul? And sparkling white friendliness pellets? That little flower sure was talkative. I couldn't help thinking that they would have loved talking with my mom.

"Wow, that all sounds... really fun," I finally responded as I held out a finger to poke one of those floating little pellets. "But um, I was wondering if you could tell me how to get out of- _HOLY HOURGLASS!"_

One; that tiny friendly speck hurt like nothing else.

Two; I could have gone my whole life without saying that I had seen the face of evil in a half-foot-tall flower, and now I had.

 **"You idiot."**

Was that a swear word? Oh that was definitely a swear word. Right up there with "heck" and "stupid." _That_ was terrifying.

All composure flew out the window like Swiper on my birthday's eve. I fell over backward, hugging my knees with one hand as I held up the other in a stop-like fashion. "Hold on a sec!"

 **"In this world, it's kill or be killed."**

"L-Let's talk this out!" I grasped for words as I scooted back. "D-Do you like cake?! I got a birthday cake! I-It's all, chocolate and stuff! I can share it with-"

 **"Who would pass up an opportunity like this?!"**

"S-Swiper no kill- F-flower no swi- Flowey no killing-"

 **"DIE :** **D "**

"F-F-FLOWEY NO SWIPING FLOWEY NO SWIPING FLOWEYNOSWIPING _CURSORTHOUHASTFORSAKENME_ -"

I think we were both surprised by the sudden ball of flame that was chucked at Mr. Evil Incarnate. It didn't burn them or anything. It just kind of... sent them cartwheeling through the air?!

Don't ask me how that works.

A figure was fast approaching, and I instantly broke into a run toward them. "Benny! Benny you're here I'm so sorry I didn't mean to get stuck here I was gonna keep looking for the cake honest but then I had a vision so I went on an adventure a-and and Swiper still had the cake and it had glass in it but then I fell in a hole and I think I failed Cursor's quest but that's okay cause I'm just gonna stay in school and not do drugs and never do the adventuring thing again and Benny I just wanna go ho-"

I skidded to a stop as I cut myself short.

Last I checked, Benny didn't wear a dress. And Benny wasn't white.


End file.
